Medico Legal News, Issue 12

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By Lisa Cheyne, Medico-Legal Manager, SpecialistInfo

Issue 12

Government Facing Legal Action Over State Backed GP Indemnity

The MDU is launching legal action against the government over its failure to cover GPs' existing liabilities as part of the state-backed Clinical Negligence Scheme for GPs (CNSGP) in England, that took effect from April.

Under the new indemnity scheme, only NHS clinical negligence claims relating to incidents that happened on or after 1 April 2019 are covered for most GPs.

The government has agreed terms with only one of the three main providers of GP indemnity, Medical Protection (MPS), so it only covers 'existing liabilities' before 1 April 2019 for the roughly one in three GPs who are MPS members.

The MDU and MDDUS have not disclosed the precise reasons why they have been unable to agree a deal for existing liabilities with the government.

For GPs who hold MDU policies, if they leave the MDU before the normal retirement age for their NHS pension scheme, the failure to agree a deal to cover existing liabilities could mean they need to buy 'run-off cover' following a switch to a cheaper 'transitional benefits' indemnity model introducedlast year in anticipation of the state-backed deal.

The Medico-Legal Conference – 11th June 2020, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster, London

After the success of this year’s conference in May, early-bird tickets are now available for SpecialistInfo’s Medico-Legal Conference in London on 11th June 2020.

Please visit the website for details and to book: www.medicolegalconference.com

Please contact: craig.kelly@iconicmediasolutions.co.uk. for further information if you are interested in hosting a stand at the event.

NHS Resolution's Annual Report for 2018/19 Shows Spending on Claimant Legal Costs Drops by £24m in a year

Claimant legal costs for clinical negligence cases against the NHS fell by 5% last year.

The NHSR Annual Report for 2018/19, published this July, shows that spending on claimant costs was £442.3m – a fall of more than £24m. The decrease comes as the government prepares to control legal spending with fixed costs for claims under £25,000.

Meanwhile, defence legal costs increased by 8.3% in 2018/19 to £139.6m, which the NHSR explained was partly due to more activity on early investigation.

NHSR chief executive Helen Vernon said the organisation has undergone a ‘culture change’ in how it handles claims, demonstrated by the number of mediations increasing by 110% to 380.

Problems Highlighted During MoJ Consultation on ‘Lawyer-Free’ System for Handling Low-Level RTA Claims

The Civil Liability Act and the new £5000 small claims limit for soft tissue injury will significantly reduce recoverability of legal costs from next April, resulting in an increase in ‘litigants in person’ (LiP) applications.

A new portal for whiplash claims is being developed but claimant lawyers are concerned that too many problems will need addressing before the system can go live in April 2020. The Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) said it was discriminatory and unfair that claimants with and without legal representation would have different claims processes.

The draft “customer journey” for those bringing claims through the new portal has just been published. MASS are “disappointed” by the decision to run parallel portals for whiplash claims below £5,000 and one for all other claims, rather than have one integrated system.

“This has long been considered the worst option available. Having dual operating portals with no transfer of data between the two systems will increase costs and result in duplication.

“It is generally not possible to value injury claims until receipt of the medical report and inevitably there will be many claims which will need to be transferred between the two portals.” There also were doubts over the integration of MedCo with the new portal.

Other concerns included LiPs understanding the various issues around medical reports and their expansion to include experts for non-soft tissue injuries.

The £180 suggested fee for experts would be inadequate for a report from a non-soft tissue injury expert, leading to a “sub-optimal service for accident victims”.

Custodial Sentence for Conman who Falsely Claimed he Suffered Multiple Injuries when a Bus Hit his Parked Car

Horwich Farrelly and bus operator First Bus have secured the conviction of a fraudster who claimed a bus severely injured him when it crashed into his parked car in Bristol in 2015. CCTV proved he was not actually in the vehicle at the time of collision.

After the minor collision, Zafar Iqbal claimed he suffered 'severe pain to his shoulder, leg, back, ankle, upper leg and right side of chest' and demanded compensation. He had initially denied all the counts against him, but just before his trial was due to begin he confessed to nine counts of contempt of court, which saw him jailed for six months. He was also ordered to pay the legal costs of First Bus, amounting to just over £30,000

Ronan McCann, Managing Partner at Horwich Farrelly, said: 'It was right and proper that the courts took a hard line against Mr Iqbal. Despite having plenty of time to admit his claim was false he persisted in pursuing First Bus. A case of this nature demonstrates the very real consequences of making a fraudulent claim.’

New Personal Injury Discount Rate Announcement

Then Lord Chancellor, David Gauke, announced on the 15th July that the personal injury discount rate on lump sum compensation payments, known commonly as the Ogden rate, will be readjusted from -0.75 to -0.25% from 5th August 2019.

This is the adjustment that must be made to lump sum awards in higher value PI claims, so that the claimant can be confident that their compensation will last a lifetime without them having to make high-risk investments. A rise to 1% was widely anticipated, but Gauke explained that setting it any higher would have risked too many injured people being under-compensated.

Industry reactions have varied, with insurers showing anger despite the modest raise, but claimant lawyers expressing relief.

Huw Evans, director general of the Association of British Insurers, said: 'This is a bad outcome for insurance customers and taxpayers that will add costs rather than save customers money. A negative rate maintains the fiction that a claimant and their representatives will knowingly choose to invest their damages in a way that would guarantee losing them money.

Gordon Dalyell, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: 'The government has faced sustained pressure from the insurance industry to set a rate which would not be appropriate for injured people, who should not be forced to take any risk with their investments. We must remain vigilant that this new rate does provide them with the fair compensation they need and deserve.'

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